Access Utah

In the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, charged in the death of George Floyd the verdict is in: guilty on all charges. Our guests today include Darlene McDonald, of the Utah Black Roundtable and a member of the Salt Lake City Commission on Racial Equity in Policing; Rep. Sandra Hollins, D-Salt Lake City; and Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City.

Something exciting today: a live episode of the podcast DEBUNKED which seeks to dispel harmful myths and stereotypes about people who use drugs, persons in recovery, and evidenced-based harm reduction efforts. Today we’ll debunk the myth; Native Americans only live on reservations. Our guests are: Sandy Sulzer, Director of the Office of Health Equity and Community Engagement at USU; Kristina Groves, LCSW, Ute/Hopi Tribe, Therapist at Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake; and podcast host Don Lyons.

Montana-based writer David Quammen says that Covid-19 is a reminder of viruses’ destructive power, but that life as we know it would be impossible without them. In his latest article for National Geographic titled “How Viruses Shape Our World,” he reviews the evolutionary origins of viruses and how they have helped shape the history of life.

On Thursday’s Access Utah our theme is farming. In the first half of the program we’ll talk about the AgrAbility program, which helps farmers, ranchers and their family members remain in agriculture when facing limitations due to aging, disease, injury, illness, or other disability. In the second half we’ll talk about an exhibit now showing at the USU Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art called “American Farmer,” which features photographic portraits in addition to interviews with farmers from across the United States, telling the inspiring stories of the stewards of this land.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in the face of global climate breakdown. So how might we develop the inner resolve to confront it? Full Ecology, a collaboration between social-cultural psychologist Mary Clare and longtime science writer Gary Ferguson, suggests a path forward. Breaking the modern impulse to see humans as separate from nature, Clare and Ferguson encourage us to learn from the “supremely methodical and highly improvisational” natural systems that touch our lives. True change, they argue, begins with us stopping and questioning assumptions about our place in the world.

Of the roughly 120,000 people forced from their homes by Executive Order 9066, around 5,000 were able to escape incarceration beforehand by fleeing inland. In her new book, “Forced Out: A Nikkei Woman’s Search for a Home in America” Judy Kawamoto offers insight into “voluntary evacuation,” a little-known Japanese American experience during World War II, In the book, she addresses her personal and often unconscious reactions to her parents’ trauma, as well as her own subsequent travels around much of the world, exploring, learning, enjoying, but also unconsciously acting out a continual search for a home.

When Kate Washington and her husband, Brad, learned that he had cancer, they were a young couple: professionals with ascending careers, parents to two small children. Brad’s diagnosis stripped those identities away: he became a patient and she his caregiver. Brad’s cancer quickly turned aggressive, necessitating a stem-cell transplant that triggered a massive infection, robbing him of his eyesight and nearly of his life. Kate acted as his full-time aide to keep him alive, coordinating his treatments, making doctors’ appointments, calling insurance companies, filling dozens of prescriptions, cleaning commodes, administering IV drugs.

On Access Utah, we’ve checked in with arts organizations a couple of times during the pandemic. Today we’ll do so again. We’ll see how these organizations have fared in difficult circumstances, what creative new ideas might become standard practice, and what the future looks like. And we’ll ask you how your habits have changed during the pandemic and what you’re most looking forward to attending as things ease a bit.

We do this periodically. Today we’re doing another non-profit spotlight. There are many needs in our communities, especially during these extraordinary times. We’d love to shine a light on your favorite non-profit or individual doing good in your community.

The Deseret News reports “Guns once again were a contentious issue on Capitol Hill during the Legislature’s 45-day session that ended March 5, and after several tries through the years, lawmakers succeeded in ending the permit requirement for carrying a concealed weapon in Utah. HB60 lets any Utah resident who is 21 years or older and can legally possess a firearm to carry their weapon concealed without needing a permit.”